Sunny Isle Free Quilt Pattern

Sunny Isle fabrics are here! I was given the opportunity to design and make a quilt for this fabric line! Christie from Christie's Quilting Boutique did the quilting after I sent her the top so I don't have a finished quilt photo, but you can see the work in progress photos below. If you want to download the free pattern, go here & get it. The blocks are 12" & the finished quilt is a queen size at 77x101". Enjoy the sunshine from this pretty fabric line!!

The Village Quilt Along

Get ready to start your quilt! I gathered my Hotel Frederiksted stash & am ready to cut! 

Here is where you can download the pattern for $1. Sewfunbymonique

 **There are some errors found in cutting both the Hotel & Bungalow roof pieces, see below for corrections**

The instructions are for cutting out each Hotel, Bungalow & tree individually to allow you to be able to have each one made up of different fabrics. One organization method that has helped me with this quilt is placing each house or tree pieces on a paper plate. I can stack those & pull each one that I want to sew.

When you are ready to sew your block, a flannel board like the one below is super helpful! I bought it at Fat Quarter Shop & it is a Lori Holt design. If not, just assemble your block next to your machine. I am able to understand the instructions better if I can seeing the parts I'm working with.

My next post will be sewing a Hotel & a stacked tree.

**Corrections: (In bold)

Bungalow, step 1 should read:

"Draw a diagonal linen the wrong side of ONE 5 7/8" fabric S square. Place it right sides together over a 5/7/8" roof square. Sew 1/4" on either side of the drawn line. Cut the triangles apart on the line. CHOOSE HALF FOR YOUR ROOF SECTION AND SET THE OTHER HALF ASIDE." 

Do not make 16 triangles! 

This is what you start with:

This is what you should end up with. Just use one chimney piece from the first square & one roof piece from the lower square.

The Village Pattern is Available!

I finally got the final instructions from Free Spirit to offer to you as a download! The Village can be purchased for $1 as that is the lowest amount I can charge in the shop for it to go through paypal or credit card routes. I'd love to see what you create with this pattern, my first published pattern!

Hotel Frederiksted is Enchanting!

I have become enchanted with the new Hotel Frederiksted line. There's something about this color combination of vintage red, vibrant green and bright blue that just sings. Jennifer knows how to put colors together, I just sew it up! There are also touches of orange and I love the Krysta print with the white background. It just lights up the group! 

I sewed my usual random patchwork pattern for Jennifer,  but this time I got to design & sew a quilt for Free Spirit  using this line! It's called the Village and I had so much fun designing it. It will be available from Free Spirit as a download sometime in November from their website. It will also be hanging at Quilt Market in Houston!! I'm so excited!! I hope someone can get a photo for me as I can't be there to see it.

I thought doing a hotel & bungalow theme worked well with the fabric line name and added the selvage for a touch of whimsy! Jennifer showed my ideas to Free Spirit and they wanted a whole quilt. I added 2 different trees & made a scrappy brick path between rows and now you have a Village with a Hotel Frederiksted on each street!

Terrie is the cute tiny diamond shaped print that is so perfectly awesome as a roof. Since this was for Quilt Market, I had a bungalow represent Free Spirit

Here is the Jennifer Paganelli bungalow! The smaller scale prints make cute details on this quilt.

Once the pattern is made available I will let you know & look forward to seeing what you create with it!

You can order a patchwork & minky blanket made in Hotel Frederiksted here

Coming Soon to My Shop!

Color Brigade random patchwork blanket is in the shop, ready for pre order. Fabrics are due to arrive in May! http://www.sewfunbymonique.com/listing/269665090/preorder-jennifer-paganelli-color

I am trying out the new Etsy Pattern shop model & purchased my own domain, sewfunbymonique.com. Check it out and let me know what you think! It's fun & exciting to have a new format. I like that both Etsy Etsy shop & Etsy Pattern give me more sections. I think Pattern is organized better for shopping. What do you think? I'd love to know your thoughts!

These colors glow in the shadows. Jennifer is a color genius! I have different sizes available within the listing. Baby size is 32x32, Toddler 32x48, Throw is 40x56 & large Throw is 56x64.

Love the olive green with pink. Here's a combo that will be in my shop once the fabrics arrive.

Top left print is one of my favorites! The butterfly adds a pretty touch.  Look for this in my shop next month!

Caravelle Arcade

Jennifer sent me her newest fabric line, Caravelle Arcade, due out in May to play with. I made my usual random patchwork and was overjoyed at the fabulous color ranges in this line!

I took the finished blanket to the local Santa Monica mountains to get some pictures with the vivid green that covers our area this time of year. Unfortunately, it was super windy and light was fading fast, but I had Holly help me get some pictures!

Next, I decided to try the mini dresden using my tiny scraps and used the tutorial from Amanda at Westwood Acres.

I also made a selvage flap purse with some more scraps. Even though there isn't any navy in Caravelle Arcade, I love the contrast with the other colors. Jennifer's fabrics always play well together!

Below is a fabric grouping I put together combining Caravelle Arcade with her past collections as well as the newest Jenny Eliza due in Joann stores any day now if not already! If you love this collection as much as I do, you can preorder a blanket in my shop here

Good Company Love

I've been having lots of fun playing with sample yardage from Jennifer Paganelli's upcoming line, Good Company due out in November. I'm crazy for her color combinations and this time around I especially love the periwinkle/pink combo with the shot of yellow. I got out my beloved Casey Scroll fabric and used almost all of it for the exterior of my purse. (I did save some for quilts)

The strap & interior are Jane from Superfly. I used scraps from the random patchwork blanket I made her out of the fabrics. The back pocket was a great place to showcase some of the prints.

Below is the blanket ( I call it a blanket if it's minky backed with no batting in between or quilting).

I am taking preorders if anyone is interested. The fabric line will be out in November!

Jenny Eliza

Coming to a Joann Fabrics near you in July is Jennifer Paganelli's debut collection for them called Jenny Eliza. I had the privilege of sewing all the prints into one of my random patchwork minky blankets for her. I have to say I really love the quality! They all feel wonderful! The colors are vibrant and eclectic just as Jennifer always designs. You will not be disappointed! Click on the pictures to get a closer look.

Based on everyone's reaction to this line, it will sell out quickly! Right now Jennifer is giving away one of these blankets size 40x56 which is a perfect size for a small throw or it will fit a toddler bed nicely. Pictured below is Holly so you can see comparatively how big it is.

You just need to visit the Jenny Eliza Facebook page and like it. Then, comment on the photo that shows the blanket and you could win it! Then you can see for yourself how amazing these prints are. They are so summery and pretty! They also blend will with Jennifer's other lines, especially 

Beauty Queen Hope you win! If not, it will be available as a preorder in my shop!

Relay For Life Giveaway & Sponsorship

My daughter, Holly, decided to form a Relay for Life team at her high school and walk in honor of me & my breast cancer journey last year. She and her friends came up with the name, "Think Pink". I decided to also join her team and I will participate in all the survivor events. I really feel like this will feel like I am coming full circle in my breast cancer journey. As of today, I've had 3 clear blood tests, praise God! My hair is growing back curly & I'm really enjoying good health with lots of energy!

I decided that I wanted to give something to someone to thank them for their donation to support the team. If you donate $20 or more I will put your name in a drawing to win this messenger bag made by me with all Jennifer Paganelli fabrics. The outside is all of her newest Beauty Queen coming out in May.

The inside is Lucky Girl and Happy Land, both previous Jennifer Paganelli fabric lines.

The inside has 4 divided pockets & the outside 2 small and one large. There is a magnetic closure. The outside is entirely patchwork! It is valued at $95. I will also pay for shipping either within the US or internationally, but if you are international, you are responsible for your customs charges.

If you want to donate, here is the link to my page for Relay for Life. The relay is May 10th & I'll draw a winner that weekend. Any donation in any amount is appreciated! Thank you in advance for your donation! PLEASE COMMENT HERE IF YOU DONATE!

12 Days of Jennifer Paganelli Inspiration

I am excited to be Day 10 of 12 days of inspiration by Jennifer Paganelli! Seriously, we could go on forever on how Jennifer and her fabrics inspire us! Pictured above is my JP stash & I could come up with so many combinations using her fabrics. It's so distracting! I met Jennifer online through Flickr, I think. She had commented on something I made that had bits of her fabrics in it and I was blown away at her kindness. I soon discovered that her style was my style and we were fast friends. I love how she loves to mix color and pattern and everything she does is happy & colorful.

I designed my sewing room around her fabrics. Wait, that picture doesn't look lived in! See below for a true, working sewing room!

Anyway, you can see how much Jennifer inspires me. She is kind and generous to everyone and so supportive to the handmade community, I am truly amazed! For my inspiration piece, I decided I wanted to feature something I've been making lately. Mug rugs are not new items, but I really love finding colorful & artistic mugs and designing mugs rugs to match. They make great gifts as I don't think they have to match a person's home. They are a stand alone gift!  Here are some mugs I purchased from Anthropologie

and one from Cost Plus

And here are the mug rugs I made to match them

I used a West Indies print called Matilda and bordered it with Claudia and then Jane and made a binding out of Sally. All I need to do is pop some Starbucks Via packets or some tea bags and I have a cute gift set.

For this one I used Claudia in the center and then did a log cabin style around it in Dana, Maggie, Danielle, Matt's Tux, Nikki, Matilda and Velentina. The binding is Luca. I love how most of the fabric names are people's names! I still have 2 more mugs to match up, and I'm looking forward to it since there is only 7 days until Christmas! Yikes! The mug rugs take about a half hour if you're using scraps. The center square is approximately 3" & then I add 1 1/2 to 2 1/2" strips until I think it's done, around 8-9" finished size. Here is the list of bloggers and the days that they posted or will post:

December 09 Sew Pretty Dresses
December 10 Sweeter Than Cupcakes
December 11 Sweet Baby Jamie
December 12 Hickity Pickity  Handmade Dress Haven
December 13 Tabbo Designs 100 Billion Stars
December 14 Heavenlelgh Blessings Boutique
December 15 Scientific Seamstress
December 16 Sweet Baby Jamie
December 17 Hold It Right There
December 18 Sew Fun By Monique
December 19 Small Town Girls Clothier Marie Madeline Studio
December 20 Granny B's Clothesline Lilac Lane by Melissa Stramel